These days, creating a concept album seems to be in vogue and many bands try to come up with a “concept” album that has no real story to share. Swampcult, the enigmatic duo from Netherlands on the other hand take up established tales of mystery and create their own musical rendition of said tale. Their second full length effort titled ‘The Festival’, focuses on the H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name. Swampcult’s style of black metal meets doom, is perfectly suited for this weird, mysterious story and the band makes best use of the atmosphere to drive the narration forward.

Having grown up with the music of bands like Spazz and Black Army Jacket, the supergroup Deny the Cross excites me. Bringing together veteran musicians from different bands in the powerviolence / grind sector, this band emulates the classic powerviolence / hardcore sound of the 90’s in a way that is still engaging and fun. Their album ‘Alpha Ghoul’ is an eighteen track maelstrom that slams like it’s still the 1990’s, but it’s also more than mere imitation. Deny the Cross have a way of writing music that is savage, brutal and insanely memorable, which does not really come as a surprise considering the talent present in the line-up.